


I promised to protect you

by ObsidianDiamond



Category: Henry Stickmin Series (Video Games)
Genre: Copperright, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, M/M, Nightmare, Reginald Needs A Hug, Right Hand Man can sing, Singing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:28:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26112658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ObsidianDiamond/pseuds/ObsidianDiamond
Summary: The Right Hand Man was not the only one who got scars from his fight with Henry. Reginald might have not been harmed physically, but the pain and panic he felt when he had seen the redhead on the medical bed left psychical scars, which terrorized him almost every night.
Relationships: Reginald Copperbottom/Right Hand Man
Comments: 9
Kudos: 167





	I promised to protect you

**Author's Note:**

> The song I used is called "The Rose" by Bette Midler. I love it and decided that it would fit here. Have fun reading.

“No…”

That was the only word that escaped his lips as his eyes fixated upon the still body lying not the medical bed. Carefully, he took a step forward, his hands shaking as he approached the heavily scarred man – or better what remained of him – that was left of him. He reached out, gently touching the long, red hair that was spread all over the pillow, letting a few strings run through his gloved, shaking fingers.

He hoped for a reaction, almost expected one, but there was nothing, not even a twitch from what was left of the face. When he was finally close enough, he reached out, removing his glove before touching the cold, heavily scarred skin that was covered in blood coming out of his skull. He didn’t mind that his fingers began to turn red or that the red liquid turned the sleeves of his coat red, he was only interested in the man it belonged to, who lost so much more of it the longer he remained lying here. The tip of his finger reached the thin lips of the open mouth, tracing the cracked skin softly. They were not really soft, never were, but now, they felt even rougher than before.

He felt no breath coming out of his throat, no warmth coming from him, and he felt his heart break all over again. His knees felt like jelly, and he had to sit down next to the unmoving body of the man that had been by his side for so long not to fall to the ground.

“Please…not you…not you…”, he whispered, his normally clear and smooth voice rough and barely recognizable. One could hear the sadness and the pain in there, the tears he tried to prevent from escaping clear in his beautiful brown eyes. He tried to hold them back but failed miserably as they slowly ran down his face and over his chin, dripping down on the sheets that covered most of the muscular body. His hands withdrew as the door opened and a doctor came in. Her stern eyes immediately softened as she spotted Reginald who was sitting next to her patient…or better…former patient. “What was the cause?”, he asked, trying his best to sound professional, but failed miserably as his voice broke at the end of his sentence.

“He was doomed from the very beginning.”, was her short but soft answer as she handed him the folder that she had taken with her. “His heart just wasn’t functional anymore. His brain took too much damage and a huge part of it already left his body when we had started to operate. His organs were just as damaged, and he lost too much blood. As much as it hurts me to say, he couldn’t have been saved.” She had begun to whisper as she saw more of the salty liquid run over his face. The broken expression almost gave herself a reason to cry.

“I’m sorry, but all I can do is to say that he is dead.” Reginald could not speak. He didn’t trust his voice, he was sure he would start sobbing as soon as he would open his mouth, so he just stayed still and said absolutely nothing. The doctor sighed and bit her lips, looking to the side before softly touching the shoulders of the brunette. “I’m sorry. I’ll leave you alone now. If you need any help, feel free to call me.”

Reginald barely registered what she just said and just stared at the folder in his hands. More and more tears fell and soon landed on the paper, making it damp and some of the writing unrecognizable. He began to shake, and as soon as the young woman was out of the door, a sob escaped his lips. He let it go and it fell to the floor with a loud _thud_ before he reached out again, taking the whole face of the man lying there before pressing his forehead against his. He sobbed again, whispering the word “Right” over and over again in the vain hope of getting an answer.

But deep down he knew that he wouldn’t…ever again.

This man, _his_ Right Hand Man, the man who was at his side for so long, was dead. He would begin to rot away, soon, he would become nothing more than a pile of bones and metal lying underneath the earth, eaten by maggots and worms. Reginald cried out in pain at this image and pressed his entire body against the other’s, not wanting to believe that this was real, wanting this to be just a nightmare he was experiencing, but the pain…the pain was so harsh and merciless that it felt so real. He cried out the name over and over again, the air was filled with sobs and whimpers, feeling his heart and soul break apart.

\---

“ ** _ARGH_**!”

Reginald cried out in pure shock as he shot up from his lying position, panting heavily. His entire body was covered in sweat, his hands, clenched into fists, were shaking, and his heart hammered against his chest so hard, he was sure it would break through his ribs at every moment. A few seconds passed until he finally got enough strength to lift his hand and to set it on his forehead while closing his eyes, a shaking sigh escaping his lips before it transformed into a soft sob.

The tears slowly ran down his face, wetting it more than the sweat ever could. He was unable to hold them back as the pain of the nightmare came back, taking over his emotions and forcing him to cry out all the agony he had suffered through while waiting, while hoping, while knowing the line between _his_ life and death has been thinner than his hair. Another sob, a violent one this time, forced itself out of his throat…when all of a sudden a deep, rough voice echoed through the air.

“Reg?”

The brunette gasped softly and looked up, turning his head into the direction the voice came from. There, in the doorframe, he stood, a confused expression on his face, which slowly transformed into a shocked one as he saw the tears on his own. He wore a simple black, sleeveless shirt he always wore since he had lost half of his body. A black, formal-looking jacket was wrapped around his now metallic hips, which fit perfectly with his black top hat he was wearing on top of his head. His beautiful, long red hair was not tied back to a ponytail in that very moment, so it hung over his shoulders and covered a huge part of his back.

His brown eye was fixated on him while his mechanical one gave off a soft glow, diving the room into a soft red, and he could see the scars on the exposed skin even better.

“R-Right.”, he gasped, unable to keep the shaking out of his voice. The Right Hand Man blinked, obviously confused but also worried, carefully taking steps towards him. He was not good with words, so he stayed silent until he reached him, slowly sitting down on the edge of the bed. As soon as he got into reach, however, the brunette jumped right into his arms, wrapping his own around his torso so hard, he was sure his remaining ribs would also break. “Reg! What in the name of…” “You’re here! You’re here! You’re really here!”, he cried out, sobs shaking his body, tears streaming down his face, soaking the shirt he wore, his nail digging into the scarred skin, leaving scratches.

The long-haired man was shocked, needing a few moments to understand what was happening, before he carefully lifted his arms and wrapped them around him, pulling him even closer than he already was. He pulled him onto his lab so that he would be comfortable, his left hand holding him while he stroked his back with his right one, careful not to hurt him with those claws which were actually designed to kill others. After a while, the sobs died down, but he could still hear sniffles and silent whimpers coming from the man so close to him.

The cyborg pulled back enough to look him into his eyes and flinched softly as Reginald lifted his hands and closed them around his cheek. “Please, Right.”, he gasped suddenly, on the edge of another breakdown. “Please tell me that this isn’t another dream! P-please tell me that this is real! That…That you’re here, in my quarters and not…not…”, he whimpered in such a pitiful voice, unable to finish his sentence.

The Right Hand Man swallowed, cursing his emotionless nature as he watched his emotional friend, the man he had been so close for years, the only man he trusted. He sighed and shook his head, trying his best to speak calmly and not like he was a brick wall. “Yeah, Reg. ‘m ‘ere. This’s real, yer not dreamin’.”, he whispered into his ears and pressed a kiss to his forehead, feeling relief filling his body as he watched the brunette’s face transform into a broken yet thankful smile, before he dived into him again, sobs shaking his body. The redhead buried his face into his neck, taking a deep breath to take in his smell before pressing a soft kiss against his skin. He could make a “Thank god” out of the mess of noises the other man was forced to make.

He resumed his movements from earlier, but this time, he began to hum in a deep tone. His voice echoed through their air as he slowly began to sing a song. He always had a talent to sing, he just never exposed it because he didn’t think it was important, but now, in this situation, he decided it was the best way to calm the brunette. His plan worked, cause soon, he heard the sobs go quiet again, and he carefully pulled back, only to see Reginald was almost falling asleep, his face still wet with tears while his mustache looked like he hadn’t cared for it in days.

**_Some say love, it is a river_ **

**_That drowns the tender reed._ **

**_Some say love, it is a razor,_ **

**_That leaves, your soul to bleed_ **

His eyes were bloodshot and almost falling close, telling him that he was really tired. He could tell that he was afraid of falling into slumber , that he would have to suffer through those horrid scenes again.

**_Some say, it is a hunger,_ **

**_And endless, aching need_ **

**_I say love, it is a flower,_ **

**_And you, its only seed_ **

The Right Hand Man sighed and slowly fell back onto the bed, taking the young man with him, pulling him against his chest. Out of instinct, the other curled against the redhead's body and continued to cry silently, quiet sniffles echoing through the air once in a while. He let his talons run through his hair while he tried to get him to relax and continued to sing the song his mother always sung to him when he was a little child and woke up from a horrifying dream.

**_It’s the heart, afraid of breaking_ **

**_That never, learns to dance_ **

**_It’s the dream, afraid of breaking_ **

**_That never takes the chance_ **

Reginald sniffed again and his grip tightened around him. The Right Hand Man pressed another kiss to his forehead turning his head to look out of the window which showed space, a sad smile on his face. He was starting to get emotional himself, and he could feel that his one remaining eye began to burn with thick, salty tears.

**_It’s the one, who won’t be taken,_ **

**_that cannot seem to give_ **

**_And the soul, afraid of dying,_ **

**_That never learns to live._ **

The other man had stopped crying by now and looked at him with such a tired look he was sure that he only had to close his eyes to fall asleep, but those brown orbs were still shining with the liquid that the redhead cursed for appearing on the brunette’s face. He wiped over them his fingers made of flesh and bones.

**_When the night has been too lonely,_ **

**_And the road, has been too long_ **

**_And you think, that love is only_ **

**_For the lucky, and the strong_ **

He sat up, ignoring Reginald’s whine of protest as he removed his shirt and the jacket, exposing his very muscular upper body before he laid down again, pressing the other against his chest one more time, wrapping his arms around his shoulders. The brunette his face in his neck and took his smell, his nose twitching as the long, red strings tickled him. He felt himself relax and the fear slowly slipping away as he listed to the last words of the song he Right Hand Man sung, a small smile on his still trembling lips.

**_Just remember, in the winter_ **

**_Far beneath, the bitter snow_ **

**_Lies the seed, that with the sun’s love_ **

**_In the spring, becomes a rose._ **

A kiss on his lips was the last thing he felt when he finally slipped away, starting to snore softly as soon as he fell into the world of dreams. But this time, there was no nightmare plaguing his mind. He dreamt of him and the mysterious redhead he still didn’t know the name of and probably never will, sitting in his bedroom, kissing and snuggling with each other.

Said man watched him as he slept, wiping one tear away that managed to get out of his eye with a small chuckle. He leaned right next to his ears and whispered a few words in there, his voice hoarse.

“I promised to protect ya, and I ‘ave no intention ta break it.”

He let them hang as he closed his eye, falling into the world of dreams himself with the man he loved in his arms.


End file.
